Brennan: Manziel punished less than if he missed bed check

Aug. 28, 2013
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Texas A&M quarterback Johnny Manziel (2), shown here at a practice three weeks ago, will be suspended for one-half of the team's season opener for his role in an autograph-signing controversy during the offseason. / Troy Taormina Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

by Christine Brennan, USA TODAY Sports

Half a game? That's what Johnny Manziel gets for the autograph-signing controversy, a first-half suspension in Saturday's Texas A&M home opener against Rice?

What, did he forget to dot the "I" in Manziel?

After all the talk about what the Heisman Trophy winner did or did not make while signing autographs during the offseason, it turns out he'll miss less playing time than if he had skipped bed check the night before the game. The Aggie band will start the season before he does, but just barely. Stragglers arriving to their seats extra late from their tailgate parties might never know he was suspended.

Thirty minutes? That's a suspension? That's more like missing the team bus.

It's likely that if the Rice game is a rout, Manziel would be going to the bench early anyway, perhaps missing much of the second half. So the NCAA just made it easy on Texas A&M Coach Kevin Sumlin, helping him decide which half Manziel would miss. No reason to overwork the kid with the Alabama game coming up in two weeks.

We've always known that NCAA rules could be confusing and strange. Now we know the same goes for NCAA punishment.

Obviously Manziel did something wrong or he wouldn't be suspended. But what exactly was his transgression? Not having enough Sharpies?

Both the NCAA and the school said there was "no evidence" that Manziel was paid for the autographs he signed. If he had been paid, he obviously would be gone for quite a bit longer than 30 minutes, or so we would hope.

Manziel reportedly told the NCAA he wasn't paid, so that appears to be the end of that. It's similar to the Cam Newton ending, though, isn't it? The individual schools are thrilled, while everyone else still smells the cash, or thinks they do, but just can't prove it.

The NCAA and A&M still believe Manziel made a mistake, however, which is why he is being punished ... kind of. The school and the NCAA agreed that student-athletes like Manziel â?? who really is more like an athlete-athlete, come to think of it â?? should know that when signing numerous autographs in one sitting, those autographs are likely to be sold for commercial purposes.

Truth be told, Manziel almost certainly did know that but went ahead with the signing anyway, although no one in College Station or Indianapolis (NCAA headquarters) wants to even think about that today.

They'd rather focus on the good news, which is that this bizarre scandal is now officially over. It's a wonderment, really, how quickly the NCAA reached a resolution in this case. We're much more used to seeing schools, teams and athletes twist in the wind for weeks, months, even years. The University of Miami football case comes to mind, now three years long and counting.

The difference is that this controversy featured the current Heisman winner, so the NCAA could not allow it to linger on and cast an ominous shadow over the start of a new season. Let's hope that doesn't mean the investigation was truncated and we learn months or even years later that Johnny Football really was Johnny Cash.

For now, though, Manziel must behave much better in his sophomore year than he did this past off-season or autograph signings might well be the least of his problems. He needs to immediately stop being a distraction to his coaches and teammates. It's a sign of serious trouble when the school of a Heisman-winning quarterback decides it has to muzzle its officials and coaches, forbidding them to discuss him, as A&M did earlier this week.

A school is supposed to be proud of its Heisman winner, not burdened by him.